You and I
by chellethebelle
Summary: A/U & A/H, Damon is undercover for the CIA, but when Elena, a waitress at the Mystic Grill, accidentally witnesses a crime, the CIA sends agents out to bring her in. Will be a DE-centric story! **COMPLETE**
1. Wreck it All

**A/N: Hello good people! So I was watching that movie "Killers" with Ashton Kutcher and I became inspired for a D/E fic. The movie only gave me the inspiration, I don't think much of the story will actually follow the movie. Anyway, it's A/H and A/U.**

**I don't own the characters, only what I do with them. Muahahaha *evil hands* Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>"Elena?" I snapped my head up to see Matt, my manager, standing in front of me.<p>

"Yeah?" I asked, putting down my washcloth and halting the cleaning on the table. I was very particular about how I liked these tables cleaned, which made me the best waitress in Matt's eyes.

"I'll get a bus boy to clean that, I need you to man the bar. Caroline got sick and I had to send her home," he said regretfully. He knew I hated working the bar. I got hit on there more times in one night than a whole week working as a waitress. It was annoying.

I looked back at my messy table, knowing that the bus boy could never get it as clean as I could, before I sighed and forced a smile onto my face.

"Of course I will," I said as I moved past him to the bar.

It was only Wednesday night so I wasn't expecting many customers other than the usuals.

I took advantage of the quiet bar to busy myself cleaning glasses and getting a head start on the closing duties for the night. I was getting into my cleaning mode when a velvety voice rang from behind me.

"Scotch on the rocks, please."

I turned to the front of the bar to see a tall man with dark messy hair. He was thin, but I could tell from the way his dark blue shirt clung to his chest that he was very muscular. I turned away quickly to make his drink before my gaze lingered too much longer.

I set his order down on the bar in front of him and looked into his face for the first time. I was almost stunned in place to see him looking back at me with the most gorgeous blue eyes I had ever seen. I mentally slapped myself for staring at him again. I turned away from the gorgeous man and tried to distract myself by cleaning which always helped clear my mind, but I couldn't get that piercing gaze out of my head.

"So, what's a pretty girl like you doing stuck in this podunk town?" I heard his melodic voice tease. I rolled my eyes before slowly turning to face him.

"This is not a podunk town and I love it here, thank you. I was raised here," I defended. I was relieved that his masochistic attitude was such a turn off, that way it was easier to not be attracted to him. Mystic Falls was my home. Yes, it was small and everyone knew everyone, but that's why I have loved it. I have never been short on friends or people to call family after my parents had died.

"Wow, feisty and beautiful," he mused. I could feel that burning in my stomach that started every time some guy tried to hit on me. I had only known this guy for four minutes and he was already pushing my buttons. Yet, I also had a different, unfamiliar feeling. One I hadn't felt in years. Butterflies.

"We close in fifteen," I said in a monotone voice, not letting him see that he had any affect on me.

I felt a small wave of satisfaction run through me when I saw the speechless look on his face, clearly women didn't turn him down often. I took advantage of the silence and turned back to the bar to finish my cleaning duties. The faster they were done, the sooner I could leave.

I heard the man from the bar place money on the table and get up and leave. I listened for a few more minutes to make sure he was really gone before turning around to collect the payment. I was shocked to see a twenty dollar bill for a $7 drink. I quickly deposited the seven dollars and kept the remaining tip. I couldn't remember the last time I was tipped so generously.

I managed to get out of the grill a few minutes after closing. I said my goodbyes and turned down the usual offers for a ride home. The truth was, I loved walking home. I felt safe here and the walk was only about fifteen minutes if I cut through the lesser traveled parts of the town. I always loved the time to think and the weather was especially beautiful tonight.

I crossed through a few alleys and behind a few business buildings and ended up on my favorite and familiar road, right on the outskirts of town. From here, it was a straight shot to my house, I just had to navigate a few residential streets before I got to my house.

I walked along, letting the cool breeze rustle my hair. I stared at the ground as I walked, but I looked up when I heard footsteps a ways in front of me. I saw I was walking a few yards behind a tall man with dark hair, my mind immediately went to the man from the bar. I slowed my steps and looked around. I was just walking past a blue Mustang parked on the side of the road.

I knew something wasn't right, there were never any cars on the side of this road at this time of night, or ever really.

I looked to see the back of the lumber yard building just a little ways ahead of me, where the man had stopped. I halted my walk altogether as I saw a man exit the dark building. Not wanting to be seen, I slipped behind the Mustang when I heard the man call out the other's name.

"Mason!" The dark haired man called out. I watched Mason turn from the door he was locking and saw the shock register on his face.

"Damon," Mason stated. Obviously trying to cover the surprise in his voice, "What are you doing here?"

I watched as Damon slowly took a few steps toward Mason and reach behind him. I stifled a gasp as I saw him pull a gun from the waistband of his jeans.

Mason took a few steps forward and I watched as he mirrored Damon's actions. Before anyone could move I saw Mason recoil as if he'd been punched and stared in horror as he dropped to the ground in a pool of his own blood. I tried to wrap my mind around what had happened there in the silence as my eyes drifted to Damon holding a gun with some sort of fancy contraption on it that I assumed silenced his attack.

I crouched behind the car frozen in horror as I heard Damon on the phone, I assumed.

"It's been done," I listened as he waited for the other line to reply, "Yes, I already deactivated it." Then more silence before I heard the faint click of the phone snapping shut.

I leaned my back against the door of the car and tried to figure out just exactly what had happened. I just watched someone shoot another man when I had never even seen someone wield a gun, other than Sheriff Forbes.

I knew what I needed to do, go home and call the police. This Damon person was obviously working for someone and they needed to be stopped. I just had to figure out a way out of here without him seeing. Surely, if he knew what I saw, he would kill me just as quickly.

I decided to wait it out behind the Mustang until Damon left the scene and I could make my escape, that was until I heard footsteps nearing my hiding spot.

I could feel my heart rate picking up and my body started to tremble. I knew if he caught me that it would be the end. I wouldn't be able to say goodbye to all my friends, all the people I've known since I was born here 23 years ago.

"What are you doing here?" I heard a harsh voice cut through the darkness. I hesitantly looked up into the angry blue eyes of a killer.

"Please don't kill me," I whispered, desperate to save my own life.

"You are the girl from the bar," he realized, "What is your name?"

"Elena," I confessed as I tried to control the shaking in my voice, "Elena Gilbert."

I was paralyzed where I was on the ground as I watched him crouch down to my level. I could feel my heart rate accelerate again with the close proximity. He was extremely good looking. I had to remind myself this was definitely not the time for that. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Well, Elena, it seems we have a problem-"

"Why did you kill that man?" I interrupted and immediately regretted it as I saw the anger building again on his face.

He sighed again, "Because, he's a bad guy."

I could hear myself snort sarcastically.

"And you're not?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but the buzzing from his cell phone interrupted his train of thought. He flipped it open and stared at the screen for a few moments before snapping it shut and returning it to his pocket.

"We've gotta get out of here," he said while grabbing my wrist and pulling me to my feet, "They can't see you here."

"What?" I snapped as I tried to free my wrist from his grasp, "I'm not going anywhere with you, just let me go home!"

He turned back to me with a fire in his eyes that scared me more than the gun had.

"You can't go home," he bit out, "You've seen too much."

I stared at him wide eyed. He took advantage of my silence to pull me around to the passenger side of the car.

"I'm not going with you," I repeated, struggling away from his grip.

He just rolled his eyes and placed his hand on my shoulder. I felt a faint pressure before my vision started to go blurry. I struggled against the darkness, knowing if I gave in, Damon would take me away from my home. I was putting up a good fight, but before I knew it, everything went black.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading, leave me a comment if I should continue or just go burn in shame. :]<strong>


	2. I Who Have Nothing

****Holy amazing reviews, Batman! Wow I think that's the biggest response to a first chapter I've written, ever. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm glad you all liked it! I was really excited to write it especially when I kept getting reviews and alerts and favorites. Wow. ****

****Please excuse any typos, if it's major, let me know. But I like to get these published as soon as I finish them cause I'm so excited to share them!****

I don't own the characters or TVD, I just like to play with them!

****Well, onto the story!****

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><p>I woke up with a start, but kept my eyes closed. I didn't feel ready to see the light of day. My body felt like it weighed five hundred pounds. I could feel the sensation of being jostled lightly as if riding in a car. And as I thought about it, the bed I was in wasn't very comfortable. I realized at that moment I was in a dream and needed to open my eyes.<p>

I finally convinced myself to see the day and pull myself out of my confusing dream. The first thing I saw was sunlight, it was bright and shining right on me. I realized I was looking at the bright morning sunlight through a window. As my eyes focused I saw the roadside scenery racing past the window. I sat up with a gasp realizing that I was not dreaming.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," I heard the familiar musical voice. I turned to the direction the voice came from to see those gorgeous eyes watching me.

"Where are we?" I demanded, my voice still thick with sleep.

"We just passed the Pennsylvania border," he said with a quick glance out the window.

"We can't be in Pennsylvania," I half-yelled, I could feel the panic rising in my chest, "We have to go back. I have a job and friends who will be looking for me."

"We can't go back," he said simply as if he was describing the weather.

"Yes we can," I raised my voice, angered by his lack of emotion.

"Ugh, you were so much more fun when you were asleep," he teased as he rolled his eyes.

Infuriated, I sat with my arms crossed and watched the scenery fly by out the window. We rode in silence through a few small towns.

I felt my stomach finally responding to the fact that I hadn't eaten since the day before. As if reading my mind, the car slowed down in front of a small trucker diner. He unbuckled his seat and was out of the car before I could get my seatbelt unlocked. I threw him a small grateful smile as he opened the door and helped me out of the car.

We walked wordlessly into the diner and found a booth away from the counter where most of the people were seated. It was an old diner, probably built in the 50's, the wall paper was no longer clinging to the wall like it used to, but the place still had charm.

"It's cute in here," I thought aloud.

"Wait until you try the food," Damon said to me with a wink. As we slid into a cushy booth.

At that moment our waitress came by to get us some coffee. I could tell she was infatuated with Damon and clearly succumbing to his charm. Like she had a snowball's chance in hell with him. Wait. Was that jealousy? A wave of nausea hit me with the realization that I was way too attracted to someone who had murdered someone and kidnapped me. Then I realized with horror that the wave wasn't nausea, it was those damn butterflies again.

"Elena?" Damon's voice pulled me out of my trance as I looked up to see the waitress waiting to set my coffee in front of me.

"What can I get for you two today?" She asked sweetly, not even bothering to look in my direction.

"I'll have the number 5, hold the sausage," Damon ordered without looking at the menu. Reluctantly, the waitress- Lucy, according to her name tag- turned to me. I stuttered a little realizing I hadn't bothered to look over the menu.

"Make that two," Damon interrupted smoothly. I felt a surge of anger having him order for me.

"I'm perfectly capable of ordering food for myself you know, been doing it for a while now," I said annoyed, as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Do you always act this childish?" He asked mockingly.

"No," I said much too quickly. I narrowed my eyes at him as I saw a smug grin forming on his face. I looked away, trying to avoid a stare down and risk getting lost in his ocean blue eyes.

To my surprise, the waitress appeared with our food, fresh and hot.

"That was fast," I muttered as she walked away.

"I told you, they are very good here," He said as he wiggled his eyebrows. How did everything that left his mouth sound sexual? I could've slapped myself for thinking that.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on here?" I asked after I finished off my plate of pancakes and bacon.

He looked at me confused.

"We are eating...?" He questioned with his mouth full. I raised my eyebrows, waiting for him to answer seriously. He swallowed and sighed dramatically.

"I can't tell you," he finally confessed. I couldn't control my anger.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me!" I half yelled. His eyes widened at the volume of my voice as he frantically looked around the restaurant and tried to shush me anyway he could. I stared at him outraged as he leaned across the table, took my face in his hands, and placed his mouth right on mine. His lips gently nudged mine apart, moving against mine until they started to respond. For a moment I got caught up in the electric current between us before I came to my senses. I put my hands to his chest and pushed as hard as I could. Once he pulled back I did the one thing I could think of.

_Slap._

I saw the anger flash in his eyes. I saw his body go rigid. I felt the fear rise in my throat. I so afraid of what he was going to do to me.

"I would not try that again if I were you," he bit out. My fear was quickly replaced with anger.

"How dare you?" I snapped at him, "You come to my town, kill a man, kidnap me, kiss me without my permission, and you expect me to melt into your embrace and be a part of some sick fantasy?"

He stared at me for a moment before he relaxed back into his seat and rolled his eyes.

"So dramatic," he muttered. I just sat and stared at him like he had lost his mind. Maybe he had. No, he knew what he was doing. He smiled to himself that he had gotten in the last word as he reached into his pocket and flipped open his phone.

All signs of joking were washed away as he stared at the phone screen.

"Shit," he growled as he eyed the room suspiciously. He quickly turned back to me and reached across the table to grab my hand and to pull me halfway across the surface. My body automatically pulled back, suspecting he would try to kiss me again, but the look on his face made me realize all flirting was aside.

He brought his face close to mine and rested his cheek against mine to whisper harshly into my ear.

"Smile," he snapped, I didn't question, just did as I was told, "Now, we're going to make our way back to the car, but I need you to stay as close to me as possible and keep your head down. Got it?"

I left the smile plastered on my face as I nodded numbly.

"Good girl," he said, almost sounding relieved, as his hand gripped mine tighter. He quickly deposited a fifty dollar bill on the table and tugged my hand to pull me out of the booth.

I stayed as close to his side as I could as we headed toward the far end of the restaurant. From what I could tell we were heading toward the kitchen.

His pace quickened and became more frantic as we weaved through the tables. It wasn't until that moment that I realized there were people following us. I could hear their hasty steps closing in on us.

Damon had broke into a full sprint as he dragged me behind the long counter that blocked the public from going into the kitchen. Damon pulled me to the ground behind the counter just as the gun fire broke out. I watched as he reached behind his back to retrieve his own hand gun.

"Stay down," he hissed as he got to his feet and fired shots of his own before he reached down for me and pushed me in front of him, leading me into the kitchen.

By this time people were ducking for cover and running wildly to escape the restaurant. I felt Damon's hands on my hips as he plowed me forward. I looked over my shoulder to look into his face just as I saw a man in a black suit coming up behind him.

"Damon!" I screamed, "Behind you!"

Just as I yelled he pushed me as far away as he could before turning and kicking the man in the face. The man recovered quickly, but Damon had already placed his hands on the cooking counters on either side of him and lifted himself to scissor kick the attacker in the face, before delivering one more final blow to the side of his head.

I watched in horror as the man slumped to the ground, bleeding from the ear and nose. I couldn't stare much longer because Damon had taken my hand in his once more and led us out the back door.

He stopped me behind the giant dumpsters in the back and held my shoulders to give me quick instructions.

"I'm going to make sure the coast is clear and when it is I need you to run as fast as you can to my car, you got that?" He said quickly, while he surveyed the area. All I could do was nod.

I watched him slowly creep out from behind the dumpsters with his gun ready to fire. He slowly inched further and further from me until he stopped to look back at me and nod his head in the direction of his car.

I was still riding on adrenaline as I took off toward the blue Mustang. I had never been happier to see it. I quickly jumped into the passenger seat and locked my door. I watched through the windshield as Damon came running to the front seat and without a word started the engine and tore out of the parking lot.

I was breathing heavy, regretting eating so much before we did all that running.

"You should probably put your seatbelt on," I heard Damon say quietly. I looked up at him, but he was looking in his rearview mirror. I slipped the belt easily into the lock before I turned to see what Damon was looking at behind us.

They were chasing us and from the looks of it, they were catching up very quickly.

"Elena," Damon spoke quickly and calmly, like he had done this a million times, "I need you to open the glove box and move everything to the side, now please."

I did as I was told and even with shaky hands managed to wretch the compartment open and hastily cleared all the contents onto the floor. There was a key pad mounted on the inside of the glove box.

"Good," he encouraged, "You see that keypad?" I nodded.

"The code is 8561 then press pound," he instructed. It took me two tries to get my trembling hands to cooperate, but I finally hear the beep of the keypad and the click of the lock retracting.

"Now, open the safe and grab what is inside, it's yours," he said very carefully as if he was trying to keep me calm.

I saw a black, metal object as I reached into the safe and retrieved the item he said was now mine. I yelped as I realized what I was holding in my hands and I could almost hear Damon roll his eyes.

"That is for me?" I asked, my eyes threatening to bug out of my head.

"Yes, Elena," he sounded exasperated, "Now please, pick it up and help me."

I stared down where the handgun landed on the carpet of the car and carefully picked it up. I couldn't fathom why he would give me a gun. I had never even held one in my life.

"A little help here?" Damon called, snapping me to the present. I turned and looked out the back windshield to see our pursuers were right on our tail, weapons at the ready.

"Wait," I asked in shock, "You want me to shoot them?"

"Yes, Elena, they are bad guys," he said, his patience had clearly run dry, "Please, just trust me." He was almost begging.

"Why do I need to shoot people who are only trying to kill you?" I yelled, panic taking over, making it hard to control my voice.

"They aren't trying to kill me," Damon said calmly as he put more distance between us and his attackers, "They are trying to kill you."

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><p><strong>Dun, dun, DUUUUN! Don't worry, I have the whole storyline basically written out, so eventually you'll know everything that's going on. I didn't want a DE kiss just yet, but it seemed that Damon was insisting. It seemed like a very Damon thing to do to shut her up, and boy did it. For like... a minute. This is the first action fic I've written, but I really love writing it, it's so much more fast paced. So fun! Thanks again for reading, you are all amazing. Remember, reviews are love! <strong>


	3. Sin on Sin

**Here it is... CHAPTER 3! Woo!**

**I'm so amazed at all your wonderful reviews! Thank you! You guys are amazing! Anyway, the rating may be seeing an increase soon, I'm not sure how graphic I'll get with the killing. Anyway, there is a lot of action in this chapter, because the next two chapters I already have some fluff planned, fluff with a twist of course! Enjoy!**

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><p>"Elena?"<p>

I was frozen in my seat.

"Elena...?"

Still frozen.

It wasn't until the water hit me right in the face that I finally snapped out of my trance.

"What the hell, Damon?" I screamed. I was turned completely in my seat facing Damon who was now rolling his eyes with a half empty water bottle in his hand.

"You can yell at me later, but right now I need you to focus on the task at hand," he gestured to the car that was now catching up on us.

"What are you doing?" I yelped as the top of the Mustang retracted back.

He rolled his eyes again.

"Grab the wheel," was all he said as he turned in his seat and started firing shots at the car behind us. I scrambled across the front seat to guide the car straight down the long highway.

I desperately held in my screams as the car started to return fire. Damon finally ceased fire and turned in his seat. He scooted me across the seat and replaced my hands with his own.

The other car was pulling up on the drivers side of our car and I held on as he swerved to run the enemy car off the road. They recovered quickly and fired more shots at us.

Almost instinctively I swiveled around in my seat. The gun felt like a million pounds in my hand, but I knew if I didn't do this, they'd kill us. Kill me. I took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. The gun kicked back and caught me by surprise, but the return fire kept me from being distracted.

This time around I knew what was coming. I held the gun tight in my hands and tensed all the muscles in my body before pulling the trigger once more. This time I got a hit, right on the windshield, which shattered everywhere, temporarily blinding the driver. I watched as their car swerved and tried desperately to recover and keep pace with us. I took advantage of their distraction and fired shot after shot, each one becoming easier. The last shot landed right in the front right tire forcing it to explode on the contact.

I felt the engine accelerate, trying to get away from the car that was now rolling down the highway. Damon deftly pulled the car into the other lane, off the road and hit the breaks as we watched the black sedan go rolling into the gas truck that was driving in front of us. From where we were, 100 yards away, we could feel the heat from the explosion. We didn't stay at the scene much longer than that, as Damon pulled the car back onto the road and continued in the direction we had been traveling.

We rode in silence for what seemed like hours, I wasn't counting.

"It gets easier, you know," Damon said gently, as if not to set me off.

"What does?" I asked quietly, still staring straight out the windshield.

"Killing people," He stated simply, as if he was telling me the sky was blue.

I thought about what he said. Just like pulling the trigger of the gun, the actual killing of people would soon be something I just tense my muscles and do. I sighed. How had this become my life? I didn't ask for this. I certainly didn't want this, but for some reason having Damon by my side was making it all the more easier. It was like he wanted me to fight, wanted me to survive.

Before I could think to respond we were just entering a city. Gradually the buildings got bigger and bigger. I gazed out the window in amazement.

"I've never been outside of Mystic Falls," I thought aloud, turning to Damon.

"Hm, well you just wait," He said with a smirk and a wink that lit my blood on fire. How could he do that? I turned to look out the window again to conceal what emotions were probably written across my face. I had to stop gazing into his blue eyes or else he'd just turn me into a puddle.

We drove through the city traffic easily, I could tell Damon had done this many times. I realized there wasn't much I knew about him.

I felt the car slow and pull into a parking lot outside a gigantic timeless building. It was huge, with big white columns adorning the front. Behind the pillars were floor to ceiling windows.

"Grab your gun," Damon said quietly before getting out of the car. I grabbed it and stuck it behind me in the waistband of my pants as I had seen Damon do.

"Wow," I said in a quiet voice as Damon was helping me out of the car. He kept a firm grip on my hand and pulled me closer to his body as we walked into the building.

Inside was a huge open hall. There were windows everywhere and huge glass light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. We weaved through the crowd to a booth along one of the walls.

"Two to the city, please," Damon said into the booth. I watched the woman look up with a bored expression that quickly changed when she took in Damon's face. She could only nod as Damon slid her the exact amount. As she handed the tickets to Damon she finally spotted me. I watched her eyes drift to our still joined hands. She looked back up at my face and narrowed her eyes. I felt a surge of anger. Sure, Damon wasn't mine in any way, but that look set something off in me. I moved closer to Damon's body and placed my other hand on his bicep. He turned to look at me and I just smiled innocently up at him. When I looked at the woman in the booth, she was seething with jealousy.

"What was that?" Damon asked me in my ear as he lead us away from the booths.

I just shrugged, "Playing a part, isn't that what you want me to do?" I looked up at him innocently. His expression looked uncomfortable, almost like he was fighting some conflicting feelings of his own.

"Train 146 is now boarding for Grand Central Terminal," The voice overhead interrupted.

"That's us, c'mon," He said tugging me to the boarding platform.

"Grand Central? As in New York City?" I asked, trying to keep the shock from my voice.

"Yep," He said with a smile, popping the 'p' for emphasis.

The train itself was plain on the inside, rows of seats on either side of the car and modest curtains hanging around the windows. We took our seats in the almost empty car right as the train announced it's departure. Damon let me sit by the window.

"Tell me about you," I asked him suddenly. He turned to look at me with a confused look on his face.

"All I know about you is that you are really good with a gun," I whispered with a laugh.

He rolled his eyes, "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me about your family," I turned in my seat to face him.

"Well it was me, my mom, my dad, and my brother, Stefan," He said, obviously letting the memories take him back, "Father and I didn't get along very well, so I did whatever I could to stay out of the house. I did a lot of martial arts and wrestled at school, I was really good. I won a lot of competitions, but it never pleased my father."

He looked lost in his own thoughts before continuing, "But Stefan could do no wrong in his eyes, I'll never know what I did wrong."

"What about you and Stefan? Did you get along?" I asked quietly.

He smiled, "Oh yes, we were best friends. We did everything together. He came to every one of my competitions and I went to all of his music recitals. Stefan was very musical. He could pick up anything and just start playing."

I couldn't help but catch his wording when talking about his family. I was about to ask what happened to them as he held his hand up like he knew exactly what I was about to ask.

"When I was 17," he took a deep breath, "I got called into work on my way home from school, my boss wanted to see me. When I got there he fired me. I didn't understand, I was his best employee and he was really vague about the reason. I was so mad, other than my sports, my job was all I had to keep me out of my house. When I was nearing my house, I noticed smoke in the air and as I got closer I realized it was my house that was on fire. The firemen were there desperately trying to fight it and save my family, but none of them survived. That's when I was approached by a man and offered a job, and since I had nothing else, I agreed. And here I am."

I stared at him in shock.

"And that's all you can know, for right now," He looked around the compartment, as if to tell me, that he would explain when we were alone.

Alone. I swallowed dryly. I had a hard time controlling myself around him when there were people shooting at us, how would I manage when we were alone?

"So," he said in a low voice, pulling me from my thoughts, "Tell me about your family."

"Well I had one brother, Jeremy. And my parents, Miranda and Grayson. They were amazing. We all got along so well. I mean, we fought occasionally, but that was mostly due to my rebellious teen angst."

"What happened to them?" He asked quietly, catching onto my wording as well.

"We got in a big fight before going out for family night, I faked sick so I could sneak out to a party, but my parents overheard my plans. I refused to go with them, so they went without me," I took a breath to steady myself, "Their car went off a bridge on the outskirts of town, I lost them all."

"I'm so sorry," Damon said sincerely, his blue eyes burning into mine.

"I know," I smiled. He smiled back in understanding.

"Tickets, please," I jumped a little at the presence of the ticket taker. As I looked at him, something didn't seem right.

As Damon was looking down and reaching into his pocket the ticket taker reached into his jacket and I saw his hand going for his gun. My eyes went wide as I screamed.

Damon's head snapped up and saw the same thing I did before lunging at the man and tackling him to the ground.

"Elena, run and hide!" Damon yelled back at me. I didn't question, just jumped over the seats in front of ours before I ran out into the isle. I ran to the front of the car, but stopped when I saw the other passenger in the car blocking the isle. I turned to go the other way, but the man wrapped his arms around me from behind. I struggled against his grip, but didn't succeed in the slightest. I frantically looked for Damon and saw him with the upper hand, fighting off the fake ticket taker.

Suddenly, as if it was a message from God, I remembered watching Miss Congeniality a few weeks ago. I was desperately trying to remember how she fought off the attacker.

Sing!

I couldn't remember what the 'S' stood for so I skipped to the "I".

Instep.

I slammed my foot down as hard as I could on his. I felt his grip tighten in response as I quickly moved to the next letter. Nose.

As fast as I stepped on his foot, I tilted my head and launched my elbow right into his nose. I heard a sickening crunch and the man cried out in pain. I took advantage of his pain to deliver the final blow, groin. I snapped my elbow from his face and thrust right to the groin, and that did the trick. He let go of me and fell backwards to the ground, crying out in pain. I quickly took my gun out from its safe place and aimed right to the head, I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger. The shot rang out in the small car, but I didn't have time to linger on the dead body as I had just spotted a guy sneaking up on Damon from behind.

I took off running down the small isle and without a second thought, jumped right on the attackers back. He clearly wasn't expecting that. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he tried to fight me off.

I cried out as he backed me into an open wall and slammed me into it. I wrapped my legs around his waist and squeezed with all I had with my legs and my arms. I had one arm wrapped around his neck and I used my other one to pull it tight, making sure he couldn't fight me off.

I looked around for Damon to make sure he was ok and I saw him with the upper hand against the first attacker. I felt the man underneath me struggling and soon his struggle withered away as he passed out from lack of oxygen. He slumped to the floor as we slid down the wall. I could finally hear my heart pounding in my ears. I tried desperately to calm my breathing. I looked up to see Damon standing over me and the unconscious man laying on top of me. He bent down and effortlessly dragged the man off me, then turned to help me off the ground. We looked around the car in silence, taking in the scene before us.

"Wow," he said finally, "You fought off two guys in the time it took me to fight off one. I'm impressed."

I smiled at his observation. It was true, I did fight those guys off by myself.

"You were right," I whispered.

He turned and looked at me confused.

"It does get easier, you know, killing people," I said, finally able to control the emotion in my voice. He turned and smiled at me before leaning down to whisper in my ear.

"Close your eyes," I did as I was told, but my heart started accelerating as I felt his warm breath in my ear. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his chest.

I jumped as I heard a gun shot ring out in the small space just as the train was slowing.

"Now arriving at Grand Central Terminal," the voice said over the speaker.

I opened my eyes to gaze up at Damon's face only to find him already looking down at mine. I felt as though I was being sucked into those blue eyes, like they were taking me in, trying to make me forget the things I saw inside the small car.

"You ready?" His voice broke into my thoughts. I shook my head slightly to pull myself from the ocean in his eyes and took a deep breath before nodding.

"Yes," I whispered as his hand traveled down my arm and laced my finger in his own.

Right as the train came to a stop we were running.

* * *

><p><strong>Again, thanks for reading! And reviews are love! They keep me going!<strong>


	4. Gravity

**Thank you so much for your patience waiting for this update. I had a dance concert Saturday night and all last week I worked from 8-5 then I had dance rehearsal from 5-11, so I had ZERO time to write or eat or sleep. But alas, here is your update. The next should come soon because I've had the next chapter planned for weeks now. **

**Also, thank you to everyone who has reviewed and favorited and alerted this story. I love you for that!**

**Onto the story!**

* * *

><p>"What are we doing here?" I looked over at Damon skeptically as we stood just inside the entrance to Macy's. I had no idea what he was up to especially after running straight off the train at Grand Central and into the nearest taxi where Damon gave the driver quick instructions on where to go from there. And that's how we ended where we were.<p>

"Well," he started, tugging me by the hand through the store, "As I recall, you didn't pack any clothes. So we're here to fix that."

I stopped on the spot and stared at him. He turned back and looked at me like I was being outrageous. I felt my heart skip a beat as our eyes met, before I quickly dropped his gaze and sighed.

"Ok, ok, where to from here?" I asked hesitantly.

"Well the women's section is upstairs, so let's get to it," He said with a smile, pulling me toward the wooden escalator.

* * *

><p>"Damon," I said in a warning tone as we stood in front of the MAC makeup counter.<p>

"Elena," His tone echoed mine with a smirk on his lips, "Just pick out what you want."

"No. No way," I said shaking my head, "You already got me all these clothes, which is also too much. I can't."

He slipped behind me, placed his hands on my hips, and pushed me toward the makeup. My stomach did backflips at the intimate contact, but all too soon he stepped back and took a seat on a nearby stool. I took a few hesitant steps forward.

I ran my hand along all the eye shadow colors. I decided to replace what I had at home. I went with a shade of brown to match my eyes and to compliment the purple gown that Damon insist I get. I found a few other pretty eyeshadows, then moved onto face powder, mascara, and blush, all with the help of a MAC makeup artist and Damon's reassuring smiles.

Damon paid the cashier, in all cash, I noticed, just like my clothes. After he finished at the check out we walked out and back into the chaos of the city. It was just getting to sunset and the sun set the city in a gorgeous orange. The whole place looked like it was painted gold.

I was mesmerized by the sight and it wasn't until I felt Damon's fingers lace into mine that I finally realized he was pulling me into the waiting cab. It was a silent ride through the crowded streets, I was glued to my window taking in all I could of the city, I didn't know how much longer we would have here, so I wanted to soak it all in.

We pulled up to a fancy building on what I assumed was the upper East side. Damon grabbed all of the bags from the cab and signaled me to follow him. We walked up to the fancy white building. It had a little greenery our in front and a huge wrought iron door. He quickly entered the combination and I heard the lock click open and despite his arms being full, he held the door open for me. I smiled at him and waited just inside.

There was an adorable old fashioned elevator set in the center of a tall staircase that winded around the open space.

Damon moved out from behind me and started heading up the curved staircase and when he didn't hear me following he turned and gave me a funny look. I glanced from him to the elevator and back to him.

He quickly got the hint before smiling, "Elevators are for wimps."

I sighed dramatically and made it a point to stomp up the stairs behind him. I tried to suppress a smile when I saw his shoulders trembling, fighting back a laugh.

"Jeez," I cried out after a few minutes of silent climbing, "What floor are we climbing to?"

He slowed slightly and turned to me with a smile. That was a bad sign.

"The eleventh," He said simply.

* * *

><p>"Ah," I heard Damon mumble, "Here we are."<p>

I crept up the stairs behind Damon unlocking the door to his loft. He opened it up and signaled me inside.

"After you," He said with a smile in his eyes. Something about it sent shivers down my spine and increased my heart rate. How could he do that so easily? I was hoping to myself that he didn't notice the affect he had on me. I hoped that I did the same to him.

Wait. What?

I had to shake my head in an attempt to clear it of all Damon related thoughts. I turned my attention to the gorgeous loft we entered into.

I hand to make a conscious effort to keep my jaw off the floor as I entered the loft. The floors were a dark hard wood and there were pillars around the open living room that were painted black. I followed the pillars up to the vaulted ceiling where the black wood lined the ceiling. The walls were white and the furniture was clean and modern. The kitchen had dark wood cabinets and stainless steel appliances. On the opposite side of the room was a dark wood stair case leading up to an overlooking hallway.

The outer walls of the loft housed floor to ceiling windows offering views of the city I had only ever seen in pictures on postcards and travel magazines.

"Wow," I whispered.

"It's pretty spectacular, right?" I jumped a little as I heard Damon's voice from behind me, much closer than I thought he was.

"Did I scare you?" He laughed.

"I guess I'm just tired," I mumbled lamely, staring at my feet.

"Well, let's show you to your room," He said as he lifted the bags off the ground and headed up the staircase.

He opened up the first door on the second floor and led me into a gorgeous guest room. The walls were a grayish teal, the furniture was all white with silver hardware. The bed was a king sized canopy bed with silver fabric billowing around it and a matching silver comforter.

Damon set the bags down and smiled at me as I was still taking in the room. He signaled me to follow him into the en suite bathroom. It was equally as gorgeous. The walls were the same color as the room, the tile was a white marble that matched the silvery granite countertops. There was a gorgeous bowl sink that had the faucet coming out of the wall. The shower was a walk in snail shower.

"You like it?" I heard Damon ask with a smile in his voice. I turned to look at him and smiled.

"Well," he continued, "There are face soaps under the sink, and shampoos and conditioners in the shower. There is also a new toothbrush and toothpaste in the drawer, so I think you are set. Anything else you could possibly need is around here somewhere."

"Thank you," I said quietly as I followed him back out into the bedroom and to the door.

"No problem," He answered back, his voice was a little shaky and it was doing terrible things to my blood pressure.

"Elena?" He said softly, I looked up and stifled a gasp as I saw how close he was to me.

"Ya?" I answered, trying to control my voice.

"Would you like to be my date to a gala event I have to attend tomorrow night?" His voice rang more confident as I could see it was an event he was clearly looking forward to attending.

"I've never been to anything fancy enough to call a 'gala' before. Besides, I don't have a dress," I answered quietly with a sheepish smile.

"Don't you worry about that," He said with a wink.

"Ok," I said with a small smile, "It's a date." With that I watched a smile form on his face, which was currently about seven inches from my own, if either of us breathed heavily enough we would be able to feel it on the others face. I knew I needed to move away before anything happened, but as we locked eyes I found myself stuck. It was like I was a planted suddenly caught in his gravity.

His eyes were soft and there was something in them that made me feel at ease, even safe. There was also a flicker of something else that made my heart start pounding in my ears, attraction.

I stood perfectly still as I noticed his face slowly moving closer to mine. I knew what was coming, but I felt scared suddenly. I had kissed guys before, sure, but there was something different about Damon. Something that made me feel like this wouldn't just be a kiss, it would be a turning point. If I gave in, I knew I'd never be able to walk away, no matter how dangerous his life was or where it took him. If I gave in, he would hold all the cards. If I gave in, he would have all the power to break me into a million pieces.

As he leaned in closer, I decided I wasn't ready to give in just yet, so I pulled my face away and looked down at my feet awkwardly.

"I should be getting to bed," I mumbled, embarrassed. I finally looked up at his face and breathed an internal sigh of relief to see him smiling at me.

"Of course, it's been a long day. Goodnight, Elena," He said softly as he exited the room and quietly closed the door.

* * *

><p>I woke up to the smell of coffee. It felt early, I knew it was. I rolled over to look at the clock on the bedside table and my suspicions were confirmed.<p>

7:01 a.m.

Stupid early bird. I finally rolled out of bed and entered the bathroom to clean myself up. I quickly washed my face and rummaged through my shopping bags to retrieve a pair of jeans and a white tee shirt. I ran a brush through my hair quickly and finally headed down the stairs.

I found Damon on a couch staring out the windows at the rising sun. I walked into the kitchen and saw a mug waiting for me next to the coffee pot. I poured the steaming liquid into my cup and added some of the nearby creamer. I sipped a little right there in the kitchen because I couldn't wait any longer to get some of it in me. I turned and walked into the living area and took a seat on the couch next to Damon. It was a small couch and the closeness of our bodies was actually comforting. I liked being near him, he set me at ease despite all the craziness around us.

We sat in companionable silence staring out at the city. It was a stark difference from the city I saw last night. Instead of bright lights and bustling people, the city was now lit in a soft glow and it almost looked as if it was sleeping. It even looked quiet.

"Why New York?" I asked suddenly. I looked over at Damon sitting next to me, he stared out the window a few moments longer before answering.

"After I got recruited to this job it felt like I was always being watched, someone always knew where I was, what job I was doing, or where I was living. It felt like New York was the one place where I didn't feel like everyone knew who I was. There are so many people here, you can't pick one out in the crowd if you tried."

He sighed and turned to me, "This is the one place where they don't know where I am."

"Who are these people? Why don't you get out? You don't seem very happy," I observed. He thought about that for a minute and smiled a bitter smile.

"I work for an undercover unit of the CIA. They were my family when I had none, so I can't just walk away. Even if I tried I couldn't." He took a long drink of his coffee before I finally responded.

"Well if they are your family, why haven't they come to our aid when all these people have tried to kill us?" I asked with a sudden flair of anger. I watched the emotions flash across his face and pool in his eyes. Fear, anger, rejection, betrayal, I could see it all. He sighed a heavy sigh, as if he had avoided thinking about that for a long time.

"Because, they are the people trying to kill you."

* * *

><p><strong>Dun, dun, DUNNN! Well there you have it, Damon finally came clean about who he works for and who is after Elena. Let me know what questions you have about Damon's worklife before the CIA/what the CIA is up to, I plan to answer most, but if you have some that I didn't think of let me know. **

**There wasn't much action in this chapter, I know, but I feel like they've had a lot to deal with in two days so I gave them a break. But next chapter we'll have the best of both worlds, Delena and action! **

**Also, I was thinking about writing a chapter in Damon's POV, yes? No? Let me know what you guys liked or want to see happen! Thank you all so much for your kind words so far. **


	5. Just a Kiss

**Hello lovelies! It's that time again! Woo! **

**So I originally planned this for one chapter, but I feel like it needed to be two, because it would've been beastly long! And it felt like the right place to stop and then pick up the next chapter from where this one left off. **

**I know a lot of you wanted to see things in Damon's POV, I did too, but it just hasn't felt like the right time yet. So we'll see. Oh and you'll find out in the next few chapters exactly why Damon saved Elena, why people are after her, and what Damon wants from her. **

**Onto the story!**

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><p>"I'm sorry, I think I heard you wrong," I said, shaking my head in disbelief.<p>

His silence was deafening. I got up off the couch and started pacing. As much as I wanted to panic and scream, I couldn't feel anything, which was stressing me out. How could I be so calm?

I knew why. I couldn't change the fact that people were trying to kill me, at least now I knew who. I only had one worry in the back of my mind.

"Am I going to be safe with you?" I turned and asked. Damon was sitting with his head in his hands and finally lifted his head to look at me.

"Am I going to be safe with you? The people you work for are after me so how do I know that you aren't going to kill me?" I asked again.

I watched him as he rose off the couch and came over to me. He stopped extremely close to me, if I breathed too deep my stomach would've touched his.

He gently placed his hands on my shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes and I felt something I hadn't felt in ages. I felt like I was home.

"I promise, I'm not going to let them hurt you," he declared in a strong voice. I looked up into his eyes and at that moment, I believed him. I knew it was irrational and silly, but something in me just told me to trust him and I had no choice but to go with it.

A knock at the door made us jump apart. I saw a smile playing on his lips before he turned to walk toward the door.

"Who is it?" I whispered loudly, so he could hear. He turned back to me and gave me a mischievous smile before opening the door to reveal a thin woman with short brown hair carrying a huge metal tackle box in one hand and a duffle bag in the other.

"Elena," Damon turned as he let the woman in, "This is Rose, she's going to help you get ready for tonight."

He smiled and turned back to the kitchen before tossing over his shoulder, "You girls have fun now!"

-Break-

I had been shaved, plucked, combed, exfoliated, and more. I felt like I was a skinned chicken by the time Rose had her way with me.

I finally stood, 4 hours later, wearing the purple gown I had totally forgotten about getting at Macy's with Damon. Rose brought a pair of gorgeous silver rhinestoned pumps to go with it. I tried hundreds of times to tell her they were too much, but she insisted.

I finally got to turn and look in the full length mirror. I looked amazing. My hair was curled into relaxed ringlets that were swept back into a full, elegant bun at the nape of my neck, with a few loose strands framing my face. I looked closer at my face to examine my makeup. My lashes made a dark line across my upper lid, finishing off the gorgeous brown smokey eye makeup. I had on a touch of blush and a pale pink lip color.

I finally got to see the dress in full. It was more amazing than I remembered. It was strapless and had a fitted bodice that flowed out from my waist. There was a similar purple fabric on the skirt that had a high slit up my leg and was covered by a top layer of sheer matching organza material. I looked like I belonged on the red carpet.

I expressed my thank you's to Rose as she swiftly exited the room and let me admire my reflexion for once in my life.

"Elena?" Damon's voice floated into my room, pulling me away from the mirror. I steadied myself and headed out to the hallway and down the stairs where I saw Damon waiting.

He was wearing a black suit with a thin black tie. He looked dashing to say the least. I started down the stairs toward him and saw his head snap up to see me. I felt his eyes on me the entire time I descended the stairs. I was careful maneuvering the steps in my fancy shoes, I was still getting my bearings in them.

Once I reached the bottom step, I looked up to meet Damon's gaze. I smiled at the awestruck look on his face.

"You look...," He started, clearly not able to form a coherent thought.

"Well, well, I think this is a first. You being speechless," I teased. He narrowed his eyes at the dig in mock anger.

"C'mon, Snarky, we're gonna be late," He chuckled.

-Break-

We pulled up in our private car to the most amazing French Renaissance style mansion I had ever seen. I was leaning over Damon's lap to get a better view out the window and didn't realize I had my hand on his thigh until the door to the car was opened by the driver. I jumped back and ripped my hand off his leg as he scooted out of the car. Once he was out, he leaned in and offered his hand to me.

I smiled at him gratefully and let him help me across the seat and onto the sidewalk. All the security escorts were standing around in suits holding umbrellas. I looked up to the sky and noticed it was ominous with the threat of rain.

I took my gaze off the sky when Damon gently tugged my hand and towed me toward the gorgeous building. It was painted a dark taupe with light blue roofing. There were windows everywhere and around everyone was adorned with ornate moldings. There was a wrought iron fence around the property that matched the entry doors.

Inside was a large entry way with a huge staircase in the middle of the room leading up to the second level. We moved off to the left into a large ballroom filled with tables and a small stage placed in front of a dance floor. The band was playing soft music while all the guests filed in.

Damon grabbed our place card at the entrance of the ballroom and guided us to our table.

"Damon!" We both turned to the direction of the voice. I saw a tall brunette man walking toward us. He was handsome, but after being with Damon the past few days, no one really compared.

I shook my head a little and told myself to get it together. Damon was shaking the newcomers hand, then turned to introduce me.

"Alaric, this is Elena. Elena, this is my friend Alaric," he introduced us with a smile on his face, clearly excited to see his friend.

"Call me Ric, please," Ric said as he extended his hand to mine. I shook it with a smile, but something inside didn't feel right. Him and Damon chatted happily for a few more moments until we heard a voice telling us to take our seats for dinner.

Dinner was a three course meal with a giant intricate salad, a pasta dish, and finally, filet mignon. Everything was so delicious and I really enjoyed the company of those we shared our table with. They were from Sweden and told me all about the building we were in. It was the Ukrainian Institute of America and they held this dinner for all those who donated to it. I gazed around the room in amazement and glanced at Damon, talking to the endless amounts of people who came to greet him. No wonder this was important to him, it seemed like he was the guest of honor, everyone knew him.

Once dinner was cleared people started milling to the dance floor. I watched as everyone danced with so much grace, like they all had private dance lessons. They probably did considering everyone in this room was stinking rich. Except for me of course. A large jovial woman came to our table and asked Damon to dance with her. I smiled to myself as he led her to the floor and guided her through the smooth steps of whatever waltz they were doing.

All this time I had seen Damon be a jerk, a killer, an arrogant ass, and flirtatious, but now I was seeing a whole different side of him. He was gentle and kind.

The song came to an end and picked up with an acoustic melody. I looked at the stage and saw a guy playing guitar and a blonde girl on a stool in front of the microphone. It was a stark contrast from the music the orchestra was playing earlier. Clearly, it was a welcome change because anyone who wasn't already dancing was now on their way to the floor.

"Care to dance with me?" I jumped a little at the voice behind me, but smiled as I turned to face Damon's blue eyes. I placed my hand into his outstretched one and let him guide me to the floor.

He kept a hold of my right hand and slid his other arm around my waist as I rested my left hand on his upper arm. We started moving along with the others on the floor. Damon led me through the simple dance steps easily. I had never been a dancer, but he made it effortless for me. He pulled me in closer to him and I rested my head on his shoulder and listened to the words of the song that were playing.

_Are you gonna kiss me or not?_

_Are we gonna do this or what?_

_I think you know I love you a lot_

_I think we've got a real good shot_

_Are you gonna kiss me or not?_

I looked up to see Damon gazing down at me. Our faces were just inches away and we were in our own world, as if we were dancing alone in Central Park in the middle of the night. I could feel my heart start picking up and my stomach was doing flips. I was suddenly aware of every place he was touching me. It was like there was a wild fire at every point. His face moved millimeters closer to mine and I could feel his warm breath on my face.

I could feel the memories of the night before swimming in my mind, yet somehow this moment felt so right. So I let myself give in. I closed the space between our lips and let the fireworks ignite behind my eyes. His lips molded perfectly to mine as he pulled me flush against him. I let my hand wander to the back of his neck. He dropped my hand and slide his other arm around my waist to lock me into him. I ran my hand up his arm and pulled him into me.

The world fell away and all I could see was Damon. My heart erupted in crazed flutters and everything in me wanted to be closer to him, wanted to touch him, I wanted him to hold me closer, but instead he was loosening his grip on me and let me slide away from him. His lips calmed and pulled away from my protesting ones. When I finally opened my eyes I saw him gazing at me with a smile playing on his lips.

I couldn't help but smile back at him as we resumed our dancing position and picked up the rhythm of the music once more. We danced in silence once more, and when Damon pressed his cheek against mine, I knew he didn't regret it. We were still dancing in our own little world and it was as if nothing could break us apart.

Nothing except the deafening sound of gun fire blazing through the ballroom.

* * *

><p><strong>Cliffhanger! GASP! <strong>

**They kissed! Woo! This is where I planned them to kiss anyway, but I never set my plans in stone cause the characters sometimes feel different than me. But they agreed with this part, so I'm happy!**

**Ok for Elena's dress, I based it off of Sandra Bullocks dress at the 2010 Golden Globes. For Elena's hair, just google a picture of Taylor Swift with her hair in a bun on the red carpet and you'll get the picture haha. **

**As for the building, you can just google the Ukrainian Institute of America and there it is. I have no idea what it looks like inside, so I just made that part up. And for the song, it's Kiss Me or Not by Thompson Square but I was listening to Caroline County's cover of it. Go look it up on Youtube, it's amazing.**

**Ok so sound off in the reviews with what you thought and I should be updating part two soon since I already know the basis of what is happening! **

**Oh, one more thing, if you want to follow me on Twitter, my username is rachellebelle08**

**Happy reviewing!**


	6. Set Fire to the Rain

**Alright, here is part 2 to the previous chapter. Most everything gets explain in this chapter and it's a pretty long one. Sorry about that. :] **

**I didn't proof read this, it was late and I wanted to get it up asap for you beautiful people.**

**And thank you all for your wonderful reviews! I'm still new to this and don't know how to respond personally, but just know I read them and they make me all giddy. **

**Ok, so story time!**

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><p>Within seconds of the gun fire, sheer chaos erupted. People were taking cover and running for their lives.<p>

"Elena!" My eyes snapped up to Damon, his eyes frantic and scared, holding my hands and trying to pull me to safety.

He backed me up against a wall, out of the way of the almost stampeding crowds.

"Elena, they know we are here," He said low and quick.

"Take this," He said as he shoved a gun holster into my hands, along with my gun. I looked at him with a confused look.

"Here," He snapped the holster out of my hands and quickly ducked under my dress. I hardly had time to respond before he strapped the holster in place around my upper thigh and brought his face back to my level.

"We need to get out of here. Take my hand and what ever you do, don't let go," he said urgently.

All I could do was nod, and that was enough for him. We jumped right into the flow of people desperately trying to get out of the line of fire. People were pushing and pulling left and right. I held Damon's hand as hard as I could, but my hand slipped out of his as a line of people went right between us.

Watching Damon move further from me was like we were in a river, we were being pushed with the flow of people, but slowly drifting apart until I lost him completely. I could feel a sense of panic start in my stomach, but I knew I needed to stay calm and get out of the building.

I pushed along with the others around me until a firm arm strung around my waist. I breathed a sigh of relief thinking it was Damon, but instantly something felt off as the stranger's other hand covered my mouth. He backed us out of the crowd and then he was running as fast as possible with a struggling girl in his arms. Despite my dress, I kicked and clawed until I decided to save my strength, taking comfort in the thought that I now had a gun on me.

We reached the end of the hallway we were in and I was thrown into the open room that was apparently waiting for us. I stumbled into the small sitting room. The fear in my mind wasn't allowing me to take in too much about it.

I turned to face my attacker and had to stifle a gasp as I recognized the man I met earlier, Alaric.

"Ric? What are you doing?" I asked him in a shocked voice.

He merely chuckled and watched as two other men came through a door on the opposite side of the room. One was short and a little on the chubby side, the other was taller and broad in the shoulders.

"Hello, beautiful," one of the men smiled at me, which sent shivers down my spine.

"Oh, don't worry, baby," the other one continued, "We're not going to kill you, we aren't allowed to."

I stood in horror as the two advanced on me slowly.

"But we can," the other one sneered, "have our way with you."

I felt the bile in my throat rise as I realized what their words meant. I took a few steps away from them and tried to hide the fear in my face.

"Stay away from me," I spat at them. They stopped their advances only to look at one another and laugh, before they continued their way to me.

Alaric just relaxed into a chair in the corner as the men came closer to me. I moved along the wall away from them, while pulling the skirt of my dress up in the back to reach my gun, hopefully, without them knowing.

As I was fumbling with the holster, the sound of a body collapsing to the ground caught my attention. I looked up to see on of the men on the ground in a pool of his own blood. I looked up to the direction the bullet would've come from to see Damon standing in the doorway with his gun directed at the head of my other attacker.

Relief washed through my whole body and I knew I would be ok as long as he was near. We had survived so much already, I had no doubts we couldn't survive this.

Alaric remained relaxed in the corner as if nothing had happened.

"Ah, Damon, you're late. And you didn't have to kill the guy," he said calmly.

"Just let me have Elena," Damon said, trying to control the desperation in his voice. Alaric's head snapped up at that and I watched fury run across his features.

"I see what you are doing," Alaric rose from his chair in an angry huff, "You played me into thinking that we would turn her in together and split the money, but you want it all to yourself, don't you?"

I stood in pure confusion at the scene taking place before me. Alaric turned his gaze to mine and offered me a sinister smile.

"Poor Elena," he said in mock-sadness, "You really liked him, didn't you?"

I shot daggers at him with my eyes as he carelessly strolled toward me.

"All this time you thought he was saving you, when instead he was planning to cash you in," I shot a glance at Damon to see his eyes trained on Alaric, his body was tense as if he was about to pounce.

"How much you ask? Twenty million dollars," he emphasized every syllable. I could feel the anger bubbling inside me now.

"What?" I gasped as I turned my gaze to Damon. He returned it with guilt-ridden eyes.

"Elena, please," he whispered, taking a small step toward me. I automatically took a step away, even though he was across the room.

"Don't," I bit out, "Please, just don't."

He let out a heavy sigh, as Alaric's cold laughter filled the space.

"Poor, poor, Elena. Played like a fool and baited like a fish in a pond," He tilted his head as he looked at me with fake pity written on his features.

"Do you remember?" He asked, lowering his voice, "When he 'saved' you from the scene of the crime? When you were blacked out in his car for almost 12 hours? He called me, he knew the CIA was watching, that they'd put a bounty on your head. Twenty million alive, ten million dead.

"We planned this, meeting here to hand you over and receive our reward. Then word got out that there was a witness on the loose and, well you know, all hell broke loose. People have been trying to kill you, haven't they? And knight in shining armor here," he nodded in Damon's direction, "Saved you from them. You felt safe with him, like he had your best interests at heart. What a fool," he scoffed, shaking his head, "You even let yourself trust him, to fall for him, didn't you?"

I could feel the tears burning in my eyes listening to Alaric. I blinked fiercely to keep them at bay, I refused to look like a fool and cry all at the same time. I could feel my heart breaking at his cruel words. I could feel the truth in them.

"Little did you know that the whole time he was 'protecting' you, he was only doing it for himself. $20 million is better to split than $10 million, don't you say?"

"Lucky for you," he started again as he turned to speak to Damon, "You can come to your senses and stop this little game, and we can still split the money, just like we had planned."

"No," Damon snapped, "I won't let you take her."

Alaric simply rolled his eyes at the intensity of Damon's words.

"I already told you, I'm not letting you keep the money to yourself."

"I don't want the money!" Damon yelled. His burst of emotion no longer affected me after what Alaric said.

"I knew you'd back out of your promise," another voice sounded as a buff, tall, official-looking man entered the room. Everyone snapped their attention from me to him and I took the chance to free my gun and back myself against a wall, holding my gun securely behind my back.

"Elijah," Alaric breathed, startled by the man's presence.

"You two have done your jobs, you are dismissed," He said with his eyes trained on me, slowly taking steps toward me, appraising me like I was on Antiques Roadshow. The man who was trying to get to me earlier took a few timid steps away from me. Elijah then came closer to me and ran a light finger down my cheek and across my jaw line. I turned my face away, desperately holding back the angry tears in my eyes.

He then took a few steps away from me and turned to face the men in the room, "You are no longer needed gentlemen, I'll make sure you get your reward."

I watched in horror as Alaric and the other man started to leave. I refused to look at Damon, I knew if I did, it would only break my heart more. I didn't know what this man would do to me, but I sure as hell didn't want to find out.

"Take me instead," Damon blurted out, catching the full attention of everyone in the room. Elijah took a few quick steps toward him, I could tell he was angry even though I could only see his back.

"You actually like this girl, don't you?" Elijah scoffed quietly, "Well, that was your first mistake."

I glanced around the room to see everyone watching the scene between Elijah and Damon. I knew I couldn't trust anything Damon had said to me, but I knew that whatever Elijah wanted with me, it was not good, I could feel it.

So with shaky hands I slowly brought my gun out from behind my back, aimed, and pulled the trigger without blinking an eye. I watched Elijah's body fall to the ground and I was met with Damon's wide blue eyes.

The silence in the room was deafening and I suddenly realized I could've just killed the one person who may have been there to help me, but I pushed that thought aside when I heard my name screamed from Damon's lips.

"Elena, RUN!" Was all I heard and without a second glance, I ran. I ran straight out the other door in the room as I heard the commotion break out behind me. I hardly paid attention to my surroundings as I darted from room to room, just looking for a door and bursting through it. I ran even faster when I heard footsteps gaining on me.

I didn't bother to look back at who it was, only knowing that I needed to get out and put as much distance between us as possible. Which was proving to be difficult due to my choice of heels. I kept my eyes trained on any door that came into my line of vision until my back was smashed into the nearest wall and a hand was over my mouth.

I tried to scream, but the sound didn't make it past my throat, as I stared into the familiar blue eyes.

I felt my eyes widen and I struggle against his grip, but he had me in an iron hold against the wall.

"Please, Elena," He begged and I could see the desperation in his eyes, but I didn't believe it. He fooled me once, he could surely do it again.

"Elena, I will explain everything, but for right now I just need you to trust me," He begged and when my body finally went still and he thought I wouldn't scream, he slowly removed his hand from my mouth.

"Trust you?" I whispered harshly, as if I was spitting venom, "Give me one reason why I should trust you."

"It's a long story, I promise you will know everything, but for right now we need to get out of this house and somewhere safe," He begged again. I simply nodded, knowing there was nothing I could do to get away from him.

He grabbed my hand again and we were running out of the room just as someone burst into it.

We weaved in and out of rooms and hallways until we entered the ballroom once more. I heard gunfire echoing in the room again as I glanced behind me to see Alaric and the man from the small room aiming their guns at us.

Damon quickly swerved around to step in front of me before firing a few returning shots. I looked down at the gun in my hand as Damon was yanking me forward once more.

As we ran through the ballroom I turned around while still holding onto Damon and fired a few shots of my own. I felt a small sense of accomplishment as I watched Alaric drop to the ground after being hit. When I turned back we were barreling through the front doors and out onto the busy street. The cool rain hit me in the face and helped calm my racing pulse.

Many of the people from the gala were still gathered on the street. I could hear them chattering about how grateful they were that there were undercover policemen at the event and how lucky we were that we made it out alive. I felt bad that they were so blatantly lied to.

We weaved through the crowd and finally rounded the corner down the street. I was breathing so heavily that my lungs could hardly take anymore running, but still, we plowed forward and around another corner, until Damon was sure we lost our pursuers.

I took deep breaths, trying to finally give my lungs the air they so desperately needed and let the rain wash away the sweat that formed on my skin. I made sure I could properly breath before I started screaming at Damon. I knew I wanted him to feel the full effect of my anger.

"You need to start explaining now," I said sharply.

"I'm so sorry, Elena," he whimpered, taking a step toward me, while I took an answering step backward. I shook my head, feeling the anger flowing through my veins.

"No, no, you don't get to do this," I yelled at him, "You don't get pity. This whole time you were just going to hand me over and let them do God-knows-what to me without so much as blinking an eye!"

He just stood there, letting me unload on him.

"I was just a paycheck for you, wasn't I?" I asked incredulously.

"No, would you just listen to me?" He asked, his tone slowly starting to match mine.

"No? Oh, so it was an acting exercise for you? Because you sure fooled me," I threw my hands in the air, defeated, before dropping my voice, "You played me like a fool, let me believe you were protecting me, letting me fall for you." I could feel the tears returning to my eyes and mixing with the rain on my face.

"Would you just shut up and listen to me for one second?" Damon finally yelled, catching me off guard. I just stared at him, waiting for him to explain.

"Yes, ok? That was my original plan, to take you in and finish my assignment. The money was just a perk," He said sadly.

"But then I saw the fear in your eyes in the diner that morning, how they reflected your guilt when you killed those men chasing us in the car, how they lit up when we arrived in the city, how you fearlessly fought off those attackers on the train, and they joy in your eyes when we went shopping in Macy's. I saw how honest your heart was," His voice finally broke and he cleared his throat before continuing, "And it reminded me so much of my mother."

I could see the tears brimming his eyes as he furiously tried to blink them back.

"You are so much like her, Elena, you're brave, stubborn, determined, caring, and so beautiful. Every time you did something to remind me of her, you took down another brick in the wall I had worked so hard to put up all these years. Before I knew it, I stopped protecting you because it was my job to turn you in and I started protecting you because I couldn't stand the thought of you being in danger, being taken from me, being killed," He let out a heavy sigh, clearly still winded from our mad dash. I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around the things I had learned in the past half hour.

I shook my head again, this time out of confusion. I noticed there were tears falling freely down my face.

"I- I don't know what to say, Damon," I whispered brokenly, "I don't know who to trust anymore."

He took a small step toward me and this time I didn't retreat.

"I don't know what to tell you," He said, defeated, "I meant it when I kissed you."

I snapped my head up to meet his gaze. I could tell he was broken. He took a few more slow steps toward me until our bodies were almost touching. I dropped my gaze away from him, still unsure if I should let him in.

He hesitantly placed his hand on my cheek and gently swept it down to my chin to tilt my face up to his.

"Elena," He whispered, "Please, don't push me away."

I felt my heart flutter when he whispered my name with such passion. As much as I wanted to fight it, I still felt like I could trust Damon, like I've felt this whole time. My heart was pounding in my ears, no longer out of exhaustion, but because of the man standing in front of me.

I knew I should've felt torn, felt the heavy weight of conflicting feelings on my shoulders, but I couldn't. All I could feel was the strong bond that had so quickly formed between us. I knew it was irrational, I knew I was being stupid, but I just couldn't fight it, because honestly? Looking at him like that was killing me inside. I wanted to do nothing else, but give him whatever would take away that pain.

This was the turning point and I was going to take the only lifeline I had and the only one I wanted. So I closed the space between our lips and put my faith in him. I felt his body freeze under my unexpected action, but just as quickly he melted into me. His hand traveled from my face and wound itself into my, now messy, hair. I rested my hands on his chest and griped his suit jacket to pull him closer to me. His other hand found its way to the small of my back and pressed me into him.

Everything in me was on fire at that moment, despite the rain falling on us. Everything in me was telling me I made the right choice. I got lost in the moment before pulling away to finalize my choice.

"Can I trust you?" I whispered, my lips just centimeters from his.

He pulled back a little more to look me in the eyes.

"I promise, I'm not going to let them take you away," He whispered fiercely. I felt a small smile playing on my lips.

"Besides," He continued in the same tone, "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist this."

The smirk on his face earned him a punch in the stomach.

"What?" He exclaimed jumping away from me, "Too soon?"

I couldn't hold in my laughter as the tension from the evening rolled away.

"Come on," he said, lacing his fingers in mine, "Let's go back to my place." He added a wink before turning to hail us a taxi in the pouring rain.

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><p><strong>Ok so I know Alaric was OOC from the show, but it just seemed to work. And I'm sorry for you Elijah lovers, I love him too, but he had to go. He's not as awesome in human form. <strong>

**So let me know what you all think and how you like the characters/plot, I'd love to know!**

**Thanks! Reviews are pure love! :]**


	7. Half Of My Heart

**So sorry for the long time between updates. I only got 3 reviews for the last chapter so I was pretty bummed. **

**Well I'm leaving for band camp with the flagline I coach, so this is shorter than the others, but I wanted to give you an update before I left.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>"I love this song!" I practically screamed to Damon. I wasn't aware of when exactly I got so drunk. Probably between the third shot Damon shoved in my face and practically dared me to drink. We decided after two days locked down in Damon's apartment with no apparent threats to our safety, we needed to let loose before we drove each other crazy.<p>

To say things were awkward the past two days wouldn't completely cover things. Even though we left things in a good place, we were still holding back from each other. So that was how we ended at the bar, two drinks and three shots into the thick of things.

"It's a great song," Damon nodded as he swayed on his stool to the beat.

"_Hey, kids..." _He started singing, but clearly didn't know the words as he mumbled through the first few words, "..._gonna make a feather!_"

I laughed out loud, unable to hold in the giggles.

"Those aren't the worlds," I shook my head.

"Those are totally the words!" He stared at me, outraged, "Ok, lyric police, what are the words then?"

"_You're gonna hear handsome music so the walrus soouuuuuunds,"_ I sang along with the jukebox.

"Walrus sounds?" He asked skeptically.

"_Say, Penny's no longer in a cement jet! Oh, but they're so laced down," _I continued, ignoring his comments completely.

"_Buh-buh-buh-buh-Bennie and the Jetssssssss," _We faced each other and sang in unison, very loudly, too. A few people near us turned and eyed us suspiciously.

"_Oh but the wind and the waterfalls. Oh, baby, she's a revocaine," _Damon continued to sing in his falsetto.

"_She's got electric boobs," _I picked up where he left off.

"Boobs?" Damon laughed.

"_And mohair shoes," _I ignored his jabs again, before he joined in with me.

"_You know I read it in a maga-ZIIIIIIIINNNEEEE, buh-buh-buh-Bennie and the Jetssssss!"_

The people around us were plain laughing now, some joining in as well. I was way too hammered to even care.

I wasn't sure how I got there, but before I knew it, I was standing on the bar with Damon singing along to the song with the giant crowd now watching us.

"_Bennie! Bennie! Bennie! Bennie and the Jets!" _We all sang together as Damon and I danced atop the bar like two drunk idiots. Which, at that moment, we were.

It had felt nice to let loose and put the past few days behind us. This was just the thing we needed to break down those last walls we built up so we could finally work as a team to get through whatever this was we were in.

We sang and laughed the whole cab ride back to Damon's place, after convincing the taxi driver to crank the radio to some raunchy hip-hop song.

We stumbled and giggled the whole way up the stairs to his apartment, but the climb up the stairs was long and by the time we reached his front door, we were both feeling the downside of all the alcohol we consumed.

We walked quietly through the dark apartment and I realized Damon was walking me to my bedroom door. We stood outside my room in silence, albeit, awkward silence. Neither one of us knowing what to do when we were actually alone.

"Thanks," I said quietly, staring at my feet, "For tonight."

"You're welcome," He said sincerely. Somewhere between looking up at his face to say goodnight and turning to enter my room, his hands were on my waist, spinning me around so my back rested against the door, and his lips landed on mine.

They moved softly against mine, but all too soon he pulled back to look into my face. I found myself wanting to, needing to, close the distance between our lips. I saw a faint smile forming in his mouth as I rose on my tip toes to place mine against his once again. Only this time there was a hunger in both of us.

Our hands were exploring each other feverishly. I let my hands glide over the planes of his flat stomach and chest, while his roamed along my sides, my back, and tangled themselves into my hair. My hands fell to his hips as I pulled him closer to me.

I reached behind me and slid my hand down the door until I found what I was searching for.

I giggled against his lips as we tumbled into my room after I finally found and turned the door knob. He backed me into the middle of the room before lifting me up against him. I automatically wrapped my legs around his waist and let him walk us to the bed. My lips never left his as I fell back onto the mattress and pulled him with me. He settled between my legs and started kissing down my neck.

I ran my hands down his chest to the hem of his shirt. He chuckled as I half growled because I was having a hard time getting it off him. He rolled back onto his knees to pull it over his head.

I admired just how gorgeous his chest was. Everything was defined, it was like he was carved from marble. I saw the smile on his lips when he realized I was oogling him.

I just smiled back as I sat up and wrapped my arms behind his neck and pulled him with me back onto the bed. I let my hands travel over the warm skin of his back. I was so aware of every place he was touching me. I could feel his warm skin burning into mine at my lips, where his hand met the skin under my shirt, or his other hand cupped behind my neck, holding me to him.

It was the reason why I was so aware when his body tensed and his lips stilled against mine.

"Did you hear that?" He whispered against my lips. Both of our heads shot to the doorway when we heard the sound of guns being cocked.

"Nobody move or I will torture the girl while you watch, then I'll kill you," one of the shadowed figured spit out harshly.

Damon's hand weaved its way into mine and gave it a reassuring squeeze. I was hoping it meant he had a plan. He untangled his hand from mine, with much protesting on my part, but when he slipped something hard and cold against my back and into the waistband of my pants, I realized he really did have a plan.

I had no idea where he retrieved the gun from, or where he kept all his weapons, considering he was only half dressed. I didn't really have time to contemplate how he stored various things in his pants because the intruders were barking out demands.

"Get off of her and move away from the bed with your hands up," the figure gestured to Damon with his gun.

"Wait until I give you the signal," Damon whispered in my ear before he quickly lifted himself off me and padded to the opposite side of the room.

I moved to sit up and get a better view of what was happening. The other figure pointed his gun at me.

"Don't move!" He barked. I jumped at the venom in his voice and backed into the pillows against the headboard.

"We're taking the girl," the other man said to Damon.

I glanced at Damon and he looked surprisingly calm. I couldn't say the same for myself. My heard was pounding and my hands were shaking and I know I looked utterly terrified.

"C'mon, kitten," one of the men purred and it made my blood boil.

"Don't. Call. Me. Kitten," I bit out at him, shooting daggers with my eyes.

"I like 'em feisty," he said in the same tone of voice.

My head snapped across the room as Damon snarled from the corner. I locked eyes with him and saw him nod ever so slightly. Then I knew what I had to do.

"What do you want with me?" I asked seductively while crawling slowly toward the end of the bed.

I saw them both snap their heads toward me as I crawled off the side of the bed opposite of Damon. I was please that both their gazes followed my movement.

I could feel my heart pounding in my ears as the plan formulated in my head. I knew Damon needed them distracted, I wasn't sure how I knew, but I did. So I went with my instincts and I knew the only way to distract them was to seduce them. Something I wasn't very familiar with.

I innocently played with my hair as I glanced up to them from under my eye lashes. I could see their eyes almost burst out of their heads when I trailed my hand down from my neck to the waistband of my jeans. With the other hand, I reached behind my back and wrapped my hand around the gun Damon had placed there.

I didn't bother stealing another glance at Damon, for fear they'd turn their attention to him. I took a few more tentative steps toward the shadowed figure in front of me.

I bit my lip and batted my lashes with the best of them. When I knew I had both men's full attention I removed my gun from its safe place. With my hand on the trigger I quickly stepped backwards as two shots rang out in the small room.

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><p><strong>Ok so the first scene? Totally from 27 Dresses, but I LOVE that scene. <strong>

**We'll start getting into the thick of things in the coming chapters, don't worry. But they'll all be Delena-centric. **

**Anyway, review PLEASE? It makes me so happy to get reviews, I love them. And the first place I go for a new story to read is to the stories my reviewers write. :]**

**Thanks! Sound off in the reviews!**


	8. You Don't Wear My Chains

**Hey guys, sorry about the late update. I know, I suck. **

**But I want to thank you all for your reviews! They were amazing to read and I loved them all. Just to give you all an fyi, I don't write smut, I just can't do it. I feel like it all sucks, so it won't be in this story, but I hope you still like it without smuttyness.**

**Ok a lot of questions get answered hopefully. We're nearing the end-ish. I think we've got about 5 chapters to go. But a lot will happen in those five chapters. Believe me.**

**Onto the story!  
><strong>

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><p>It all happened very slowly. I stood frozen, gun in hand, finger still unmoved on the trigger, as the two men fell in a heap on the floor. I watched as the blood from their wounds slowly stained the carpet. I was aware of Damon saying my name, but I didn't respond until he carefully removed the gun from my hand and placed a light kiss on my forehead.<p>

"I don't remember shooting them," I whispered.

"You didn't. I did," He said nonchalantly. Then he was a blur of movement, dragging the bodies out of my room and into the empty closet across the hall.

"You need to pack, we're leaving," He said as he poked his head into my room, dropped a duffel bag on the floor, and just as quickly has he appeared, he disappeared again.

I found myself wanting to follow him to wherever he was in the house and just hold tight to him. He saved me, again. He gave me the tools to defend myself and yet he saved me the trouble of having two more lives on my conscious. I wanted to go to him, to thank him, to hold him.

I let out a heavy sigh and surveyed the room, deciding what I would pack. I caught sight of myself in the mirror. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry as I saw my disheveled appearance. My hair was all out of place from Damon's hands, my lips were swollen, my eyes were brimming with tears I didn't know I had, and my clothes were ruffled and stained with small splatters of blood. I was a certified hot mess. More emphasis on 'mess' than 'hot'.

I sighed again and started grabbing clothes from the bags I never unpacked. I threw it all into the bag Damon had given me, then ventured into my bathroom and dumped all the toiletries in as well. I changed my shirt and made sure there was no blood on the designer jeans Damon insisted I get. I slipped my feet back into my wedges and 45 minutes later we were in the airport terminal, waiting to board a plane to God-knows-where.

I had maintained a grip on Damon's hand ever since we left, only letting go so he could pay the taxi driver, tip the airport concierge, and pay for our tickets. Now we were stuck waiting for another half hour before our flight begins boarding. The airport was exceptionally quiet, but then I reminded myself it was just barely 4 a.m.

"Hey Damon?" I finally spoke.

"Yeah?" He turned to face me.

"Why are those people after me? I know they get a lot of money for turning me in, but why does the CIA want me?" I asked.

Damon sighed, it was obvious he knew the answer and also obvious that he didn't like it.

"I don't know what they want exactly. They know you saw me kill Mason that night, but they usually send out a message that calls for us to bring witnesses into them. But that morning in the diner, before those men attacked us, they sent another message to bring you in and this time they offered money, lots of money, as you know," he explained, "Then I saw them walking toward us and I knew they were going to attack so we had to get out of there."

"Yeah, I remember, but why would the CIA want me, and why would they pay out millions of dollars for me?" I asked.

"I don't know for sure, but I think at first they just wanted me to bring you in as standard witness procedure, but then I think they did a background check and realized you had no one left. I think they want you as an agent. They like agents who have no family, no one to ask questions when you disappear," he continued with a certain sound of sadness to his voice.

"Someone like you," I finished, it wasn't a question. We sat in thoughtful silence for a few moments before more questions came to the surface.

"Is an agent like that really worth millions of dollars?" I asked.

"They could be, if they'd prove to be a good agent, which obviously, you have. But I have a feeling that once they got you they'd never make good on their word. They'd have no reason to," Damon sighed. I could tell he was holding resentment toward the CIA.

"So what are we going to do about it now?" I asked.

"I think I have a plan, but first we have to visit an old friend of mine,"

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><p>8 hours and two connecting flights later, we landed at a tiny airport in a small town I had probably never heard of.<p>

"Flagstaff, Arizona," Damon said, as if reading my mind, "But we aren't staying here, we're driving down into Oak Creek Canyon."

I just nodded and followed him out of the tiny airport. The late morning sun was shining brightly on us, but the air was still cool from the night before. Damon stopped abruptly in the parking lot and slung my duffel bag over my back so the strap lay across my chest, he then tightened the strap so the bag rested snugly against me. He did the same thing with his own bag and grasped my hand in his.

"How do you feel about grand theft auto?" He asked with a small smirk.

"I've already got several counts of manslaughter against me; why not add theft to that?" I half-joked.

"That's my girl," He smiled and led me over to a motorcycle with two helmets perched on top.

"Bingo," He said as he handed me one of the helmets. He bent down next to the bike for and fiddled with some wiring while I put my helmet on. Damon's chuckle floated into my ears as the engine roared to life. Damon grabbed his helmet and mounted the bike. He turned his bag in front of him so I could settle onto the seat behind him.

"You ready for this?" He asked, looking like a child on Christmas morning, I couldn't help but smile and hold onto him for dear life. And just like that we were out of there and speeding down the highway. The pine trees that lined the roads flew past us in a blur of green.

Soon the road went from highway to a two lane winding road. Damon slowed the bike down so we could both take in the amazing view. We drove down the winding road into a large canyon. There were vines growing on the sides of the rock and on the other side of the road it dropped off into an endless sea of trees. At the tip of the canyon were gorgeous red rocks that had random pine trees growing directly out of the rock. I had never seen anything so beautiful.

As the road winded down deeper into the canyon, the trees formed a canopy over the road. It was like something out of a movie. Every once in a while I could catch glimpses of the flowing water beyond the trees.

Damon slowed the bike further and we made our way off the main road onto a smaller one that I couldn't even see through the trees. We rode along through the forest until the road turned to a dirt trail. We weaved through the ferns right along side of the creek. The water looked so clear and clean, it made me want to strip to my underwear and dive right in.

I was pulled out of my day dreams as the bike stopped abruptly. I leaned to Damon's other side to see what he was doing. I saw his arm extended into the foliage around us and I gasped in shock as the vine wall in front of us started to open. We proceeded through the gate onto a paved driveway and a few minutes later a gorgeous mansion came into view. It was a dark brown with dark wood paneling and stone accents all over. The style fit right in with the surrounding forests. We pulled up right to the steps leading to the front door. I hopped off the bike and gaped at the house while Damon got off and placed the bike on its kickstand.

"Where are we?" I asked, amazed.

"My friend, Tyler lives here. He used to work in the CIA. He's the smartest computer genius I know and he's going to help get the CIA off your trail," Damon said, leading me to the giant oak door and ringing the bell.

Moments later a tall, buff, brunette man with bright brown eyes answered the door.

"Damon," he said.

"Hello, Tyler," Damon greeted him.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Tyler asked after he invited us into his large entry way.

"I need your help," Damon said, a little desperation leaking into his voice.

"What happened?" Tyler asked, it was like he already knew it had to do with the CIA.

"They are after Elena, I think they want to recruit her and I need you to help us stop them," Damon said.

"You need me to get her free?" Tyler clarified.

Damon just nodded.

"I'll see what I can do," Tyler said simply.

"How do you know how to do that?" I asked finally, listening to the entire conversation.

"Because," Tyler said, "I've done it before, for me."

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><p><strong>There you have it. The way out! But will it work? Will they succeed? I'm writing the next chapter as you read this, so it'll be up soon-ish.<strong>

**Btw, google Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona. It's seriously so gorgeous. I was just there last week hiking along the creek. It's amazing! **

**Ok, now insert shameless begging for reviews! Go!**


	9. Follow You Anywhere

**What is this? Two updates in two days? GASP! SHOCK! AWE! **

**Thanks to the three of you who reviewed the last chapter, I know it was sorta a filler, so I hope this chapter gets you all reviewing!**

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><p>I stood staring Damon down from across the gym. We stood on opposite corners of the blue mat we had been training on for the past few weeks. Tyler had been holed up in his computer room working tirelessly on a way to flush me out of the CIA's system. We didn't know how long it would take so Damon took to training me for when we'd have to actually break into the CIA headquarters and plant whatever virus Tyler concocted into their system to eat away all traces of Elena Gilbert.<p>

What I soon caught onto in the many conversations I overheard was that they weren't going to bother to erase Damon from the system, until I pulled Tyler aside and made sure that Damon would have that option when the time came. Tyler just nodded and said he would try what he could.

"Are you ready?" Damon asked. It had been over six weeks since we had arrived here and Damon never let up on the training. It was like he was in mission-mode all the time. I assumed he was distancing himself from me so it would be easier to let me go when the time finally came, but I was fighting it with everything I had. I was pulling out all the stops and I could see his resolve weaken little by little.

I pulled myself out of my mind and nodded at Damon. He walked slowly at me, like a panther stalking its prey. Before he could attack I wrapped my arm around his neck and put him into a headlock. He got his arms around my legs and lifted me into the air before slamming me down onto the mat on my back. I let out a groan and watched the fire in his eyes ignite slightly at the sound. While he was momentarily distracted I used my leg to knock him against the head and he rolled off of me. I scrambled after him and jumped onto his back. He struggled against me before rolling over me and effectively getting me off his back.

He straddled my stomach and put his hands on my shoulders to push me into the mat. I pushed with all my energy with my legs and somersaulted him over me. I adjusted myself so his head was locked between my knees. He flailed his legs, trying to get me off him, but I held fast.

"What?" I asked innocently, "You don't like it when the girl is on top?" I sat back on my heels and watched the fireworks display going off in his eyes. Before I knew it he wrapped his leg around my waist and knocked me onto the mat before he had me pinned beneath him. The look in his eyes was turning my bones to liquid and setting my veins on fire. It had been so long since he looked at me like that or even took that wall down for a second. But now I could see the old Damon coming back to me, even if just for a second.

I relaxed in his grip and I could feel the air catching on fire. Our eyes locked and I could see the conflict playing out in his eyes. I lifted my head slowly to bring my face close to his and I could see the last of his resolve disappear. As he brought his face to mine, I pushed against his chest and wrapped my legs around his waist and flipped him onto his back. I had a wrist in each hand pinned above his head. I could practically feel the desire rolling off of him in waves and I leaned my face close to his.

"I win," I whispered right against his lips before I quickly got up off him and started to walk across the room to leave. I was still riding the high from having Damon like putty in my hands, I didn't hear him come up behind me. I didn't know he was there until he yanked my wrist and all but slammed me into the nearby wall.

He pressed his body against mine and his lips seared along my own. Damon was holding nothing back, I could tell. He was kissing me with complete abandon and I kissed him back just the same. He pressed my back further into the wall, and his hands frantically moved across my skin and tangled into my hair. I let my hands search and pull along his back as I dug my nails into the fabric of his shirt.

Damon started to slow things down into a much slower, almost lazy kissing. His hands softened in my hair and drifted their way down to settle on my hips. He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine while we caught our breath. Which is exactly how Tyler found us moments later.

We both snapped apart when he walked into the room, but the look on his face said he knew what we were doing.

"It's ready," was all he said and he motioned us to follow him to a room I hadn't been in.

"Here," He said handing us head sets, "You'll need these to keep contact with each other and me, this," he said holding up a key card, "Is an untraceable key to open all doors in H.Q., when you go room to room I'll shut off each surveillance systems as you get deeper into the compounds. When you get to the main computer room and you insert the disc, you just type the names of the people you want erased from the system and it will take care of the rest. Got it?"

We both nodded and Damon led me from the room to mine and let me know we'd leave in one hour and to look nice. I could tell by looking in his eyes that he put that wall back up. I walked into my room, shut the door, and leaned all my weight against it. I felt a sob bubble up in my throat and then I lost it. I slid to the floor and let the sobs shake my whole body. I cried until it hurt, then I cried until I felt numb.

* * *

><p>The Las Vegas strip is the last place I'd ever expect the headquarters for the CIA to be located, but I guess that was the point.<p>

The ride over was quiet to say the least. And not for lack of trying on Damon's part. Soon he just gave up and coaxed the car to go faster down the highway. I knew if I opened my mouth, everything I've been holding inside would come tumbling out and I just couldn't have that happening. Not now. And maybe not ever.

We cruised down the strip in one of Tyler's spare BMW convertibles and pulled into the drive of a gorgeous hotel with a giant fountain display in front. The man at the valet opened up my door and extended a hand to me and welcomed me to the Bellagio Hotel. Damon placed a hand on the small of my back and led me into the hotel.

I gawked at the decor of the hotel/casino while Damon checked us into our room. Then came back to lead me up to our third floor suite. I gazed out at the brightly lit strip and let my mind wander to all the things I kept locked away when Damon interrupted.

"Ok, Elena," He sighed, "What's wrong?"

I turned around slowly, seriously considering just ignoring him, but I didn't.

"Nothing," I shrugged.

"That's a lie," he said, anger flaring in his eyes.

"What do you want me to say, Damon?" I said, my tone matching his.

"You know what, fine, be like that," he said and turned to the door to leave.

"Why don't you want to be free from the CIA?" I blurted out right as his hand grasped the door knob. I watched his whole body freeze up.

"I don't know what you're talking about" he said. I could tell he was working very hard to keep his composure.

"You told Tyler to just make a virus that wipes me out of the computers, not you, why?" I asked. He slowly turned around to face me, his face still tense.

"It doesn't matter," He yelled, throwing his hands in the air out of anger.

"It matters and you know it," I bit out through my teeth.

"Because it's the only way to stop myself from following you to the ends of the Earth, ok?" He raised his voice in desperation, "Can we just drop this, please?"

"No, we can't," I responded, "Because somewhere along this screwed up adventure, I fell in love with you. I won't let you stay behind until you look me in the eyes and tell me you don't feel the same."

I waited on edge as my words hung heavily in the air. This moment was almost too much for me to handle. I had never, in my entire life, put myself out there like this and I was so nervous I thought I was going to be sick. The conflicted look on his face nearly broke my heart.

"Let me show you," he growled before he crossed the room in three strides, cupped my face in his hands and blazed his lips against mine.

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><p><strong>This was the final chapter before they break into HQ. As was said in "10 Things I Hate About You"... "The shitteth hath hitteth the fan...eth"<strong>

**Let me know what you think! Reviews will inspire me to keep writing! Ok... GO!**


	10. The Sky is Crying

**I know, I fail. But I hope you guys are still out there reading! I am finishing the whole story tonight. I have 2-3 more chapters left.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>I woke peacefully from sleep and rolled over to find nothing but cold sheets.<p>

Yeah, that hurt.

I chastised myself for letting him get to me, letting him in again. I decided I would go ahead and get up and put my game face on for the day. I promised myself I wouldn't let him distract me from this mission. By the end of the day I would be a free woman, or a dead one.

Before I had any chance to put my thoughts into actions, a shirtless Damon burst through the double doors to the master suite pushing a silver cart adorned with all sorts of plates covered by their individual silver domes.

"I made you breakfast in bed," He smiled proudly, then the smile turned into a smirk, "Well, I ordered you breakfast in bed."

I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my lips. Not two minutes ago I was preparing myself for the worst and then here he was bringing me breakfast. In only a pair of sweatpants.

He pulled the large tray off the cart and set it on the foot of the bed as he came around and got back into the bed next to me. As he did I picked up his discarded shirt from the floor and buttoned it up before I started into the food.

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><p>"Wow, you look...," Damon stuttered when I walked out of the master suite in a tight long sleeved black dress and matching black Louboutins. We had to look the part of a high profile couple that would be staying in the largest suite in the hotel. Damon didn't do anything half-assed.<p>

I smiled a little as I felt blood rush to my cheeks.

"So where would one store weapons in this number?" I asked him, happily changing the subject.

Damon got to work fitting me with a knife that fit in a holster under my sleeves. He also gave me a fitted ear piece so we could hear each other and anything Tyler might have to say to us. Then he carefully placed a necklace around my neck that was tweaked with a microphone. Then he carefully placed my new silenced gun into a leg holster.

I watched him as he knelt in front of me and carefully strapped the holster in place around my upper thigh, never breaking eye contact even as his hands lingered a moment longer than necessary. I felt my cheeks flush as I saw something flash across his eyes that nearly melted me on the spot. He smirked slightly and stood up while taking my hand.

"You ready?" He asked and with a simple nod of my head we were already out the door, down the elevator and into the lobby.

"Ok," Tyler chimed into our ears, "There is only one elevator that goes to HQ. It is the one closest to the parking garage. Be careful, there is a bell hop in that elevator, he is undercover, you'll have to take him out."

I took a deep breath to steady myself and felt immensely better when Damon squeezed my hand reassuringly.

We weaved through the crowds of guests and tourists as we made our way into the secluded entryway from the parking garage.

I could feel my heart pounding as we waited for the elevator doors to open.

"We're in the elevator," Damon spoke, knowing Tyler would hear it through his microphone.

"Alright when you enter, you will have two minutes to take care of the agent and get his access badge. Once you swipe it, the elevator will take you to level B5," Tyler's voice came through our earpieces.

The doors dinged signaling the elevator's arrival and I was very sure I wouldn't be able to do this until I saw the encouragement in Damon's eyes. I let Damon pull me into the car as he told the undercover agent that we were going one level lower.

Once the doors closed Damon sprung into action, quickly drawing his gun and killing the man easily. He bent down and found his access card and swiped it into the elevator key and the car started moving once more while he pocketed the badge.

"Now, once you get into the entry hall, you'll need to take out everyone and anyone who sees you. You will need to get to the stairwell that I'll guide you to and descend one level. You have less than two minutes to get there," Tyler instructed.

Right before the doors opened, Damon leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the lips before pulling back and smiling at me. Before I could smile back, the doors dinged open and we were back in mission-mode.

We successfully took down ever agent we came in contact with and made it to the control room with the help of Tyler in our ears.

We now only had five minutes to put the disk into the computer and let it take its course. We both breathed a sigh of relief that we had made it this far. That is, until we hear the sound of a gun being cocked.

I turned to see a tall, very handsome, man holding a gun right near my head. There was a woman with him doing the same to Damon.

"Katherine, go tell the others that we have the threat taken care of," the man said. His features were eerily familiar. His green eyes were hard and emotionless. But there was something in the way he spoke and stood that reminded me of someone.

Katherine gave him a strange look, but lowered her gun and strutted out of the room. Damon turned to me to make sure I was ok. I watched his gaze move from me to the man in front of me. Something on his face confused me. He looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"No fucking way," he whispered. That's when the man moved his glare from me to Damon and I saw the same look cross his face too. I looked between the two staring each other down. It didn't click until Damon said one word. One name.

"Stefan?"

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><p><strong>Don't worry, the next chapter picks up where this one left off! I'll be posting the last chapters over the weekend! :]<strong>


	11. The Sharp Knife

**Let me just say, I know this is a short chapter, but it's real purpose is to bring us to the last chapter.**

**So I hope you enjoy! That cliffhanger was too much fun to write!**

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><p>"Damon?"<p>

And that's when things got really weird. They both started talking at once, both of them as confused as the other.

"I thought you were-" Damon started.

"They told me that you-" Stefan spoke at the same moment.

"Wait, what?" I finally found my voice, my confusion hitting its peak. Neither of them acknowledged me.

"But they told me that you died in the house fire that killed mom and dad," Damon asked quietly.

"They told me that you died in a car accident on your way home from work," Stefan replied.

"They told me that all your bodies were burt beyond recognition so I wasn't able to identify them," Damon said.

"They told _me_ that the accident was so tragic that you were mangled beyond recognition," Stefan said.

"Wait, who told you these things?" I interjected.

"The CIA," they said in unison.

Then it clicked in my head. As far fetched as it seemed, it would make sense.

"Do you think maybe they faked your deaths so you'd have nothing else to live for and join them with no strings, no family?" I thought out loud, not really believing it until I heard it myself.

The silence confirmed my theory.

"It's the only thing that makes sense," Stefan said finally, "I had just gotten kicked out of my music classes that day, I felt like I had lost everything, that I had nothing else."

"I lost my job that day," Damon nodded.

Suddenly Damon's eyes sparked with something that I recognized as an idea.

"Stefan, we have a virus that will wipe out anyone we want out of their system. We can take you with us, get you out of here," Damon said urgently.

"Two minutes," Tyler chimed in our ears.

Stefan smiled a bitter sweet smile.

"It was so good to see you, Damon. I can't believe all this time they made us think the other was dead, but the only way you guys will escape is if I keep the search off and get you guys out of here," Stefan said solemnly.

Damon was already shaking his head.

"You can do that while it's taking you out, you can be free," Damon prodded.

Stefan sighed and glanced wistfully to the door and I realized why he would stay. The same reason Damon would leave.

"You love her," I said quietly, "Katherine, you are in love with her."

Stefan turned his gaze to me and I saw the answer in his eyes before he spoke it.

"Yes," he said simply.

I looked over at Damon and saw the understanding wash over him as he glanced in my direction.

He sighed heavily.

"Very well then, let's get this done," he said, turning to the computer to enter the disk.

"Ok, Tyler, it's ready," he spoke toward the microphone under the collar of his black shirt.

"You guys will just have enough time to haul ass out of there and get back to the elevator," Tyler replied.

We waited in tension-filled silence. I wasn't particularly religious, but I said a silent prayer that it would work and we would really be free.

"It's done, get out of there," Tyler said finally, relief in his voice.

"Follow me," Stefan said, leading us out a different door we came in.

We made it down the halls and up the stairs with no consequence.

We walked quickly down the main hall toward the elevator.

"Thank you for making him happy," Stefan said to me in a low voice

"You're welcome and thank you for everything," I said as I turned to Stefan. He gave me a small nod in return and I went to the elevator to wait for Damon.

Damon turned to his brother and hugged him for the first time in years and the last time. I felt the tears prick my eyes at the scene. I could tell they both felt way more emotions than they were used to.

My heart dropped when I saw a group of agents making their way down the hall toward the brothers. They had their guns trained right on them.

I ripped my hand off the hold button on the elevator to help them, but as soon as my hand left the button the doors started closing.

The last things I heard as the doors closed was the sound of gunfire and my own voice screaming Damon's name.

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><p><strong>Gah! Poor Damon, just got his brother back and has to leave him again. Or does he get caught? Does he die? We shall see. The next chapter is our last one!<strong>

**Reviews are love! I love to hear your reactions to things! It's the best part of writing!**


	12. Mine

**Here it is, the final chapter! I can't believe it. First I want to say thank you all for reading. I really enjoyed all of your lovely reviews!**

**Second, I know the last chapter was SUPER short. But it was originally going to be combined with chapter 10, but I liked where chapter 10 ended on it's own. And I couldn't flesh out the following chapter as easily. So I'm terribly sorry about that, but it was a chapter that had to happen, it just didn't fit in anywhere else.**

**Anyway, I really hope you guys like this last chapter. Let me know how you liked it because I sure loved writing it.**

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><p>I practically paced a hole into the floor. I wasn't able to go back down because Damon had the access badge in his pocket. All I could do was wait and try to hold in my hysterics to not cause a scene.<p>

"I lost the signal," I heard Tyler say in my ear. I could hear the sadness in his voice. We were both forced to anxiously wait. I ripped the ear piece out of my ear, no longer caring what Tyler had to say. We failed. I failed.

I thought of all the things they could be doing to him. That I would never see him again. I couldn't help but think it was my fault. My fault, once again, that someone died.

If I had only taken that ride offer that fateful night.

If only I hadn't fallen for Damon.

If only I hadn't convinced him to runaway with me.

He was gone now, and it was because I was in love with him.

I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks. Everyone I had ever loved died.

Died because of me.

My parents, Jeremy, and now Damon.

I was considering just going back to the room and let the grief overtake me. I could cry until I couldn't anymore. I could let myself think of the life we could've had together.

Think of us dating, going to dinners and goofing off like normal people.

I could think of us settling in a small town with loving people who'd take us in as their own.

I could think of us getting engaged. Damon down on one knee with a huge, extravagant proposal. Probably in public. Everyone would 'ooh' and 'awww' at us. I would have tears happily running down my face as I nodded furiously, not being able to speak. And he would slid the gorgeous diamond ring onto my left ring finger, then he would pick my up into his arms and tell me how much he loved me.

I could think of us planning a wedding. Inviting all our new friends in whatever town we settled down in. We would argue over what shoes he would wear. I would shop with my girlfriends for the perfect wedding dress. I saw myself tearing up when I found _the one_.

I could think of our wedding day. I would walk down the isle while all our friends watched and the only person I'd be looking at would be Damon. He would be looking gorgeous in his tux, his hair perfectly mussed. He would be looking at me with those rare tears in his eyes, with a breathtaking smile plastered on his face. He would whisper that he loved me while the preacher spoke. We would say our vows with conviction and love. Then he would kiss me for the first time as his wife while our audience cleared their throats uncomfortably. I could see his smirk, totally satisfied with himself.

I could think of our lives. The excitement of our first child. And maybe a second or third.

I could think of us growing old, watching our grandchildren grow up.

I could think of all the things I would never have. All because of me. All because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I slowly started to walked across the busy lobby. The tourists bustling excitedly past me. No one bothering to notice my disheveled state or the tears running down my face, surely ruining all my make up. None of them knowing that I had killed about 10 people in the space of 30 minutes. None of them even aware that there was a secret section of the CIA that was so corrupt. They were all carrying on in their happy, carefree lives. I wanted so badly to trade places with them. I'd give just about anything.

My feet were hurting in my shoes, my heart was breaking, and I had no where to go from here. I didn't know where I was, or how I'd get out of this city.

I could never go back to Mystic Falls, there would be too many questions asked and I was certain the CIA came up with some way to cover my disappearance.

No, I'd have to start all over. How could I start over after all I'd been through? I would much rather curl up into a ball and be taken to where ever Damon was now. No matter where it was. I would go to the ends of the earth to be with him again. Just to see him smile, to hear him say my name.

"Elena!" I heard his voice so clearly in my mind that it stopped me in my tracks. Certainly he wouldn't scream it like that, so much desperation in it. He would be happy to see me. He would run at me with that devilish smirk on his face, his hair perfectly out of place.

"Elena!" It was louder this time. It couldn't have been in my head. I turned slowly to confirm that I was indeed going crazy.

And it was worse than I thought. I was full on hallucinating. I saw him so clearly in my mind running to me across the crowd of people. Just the way he looked when I saw him for the last time. He looked just as disheveled as I felt, his hair whipping around while he clumsily ran through the crowds of people.

I finally realized that I wasn't crazy. He was here. He was running at me. He was alive.

My feet swept me away toward him as I pushed through the crowds to get to him.

I ran headlong into his arms and he scooped me up and just held me. The only sound I could hear was my heart pounding and his heavy breathing.

I pulled back just enough to rain kisses all over his face, as if to convince myself he really was alive and whole. I felt his hands all over me, doing the same.

After a few long moments and some awkward glances from onlookers, he finally put me down, but refused to let me move away too far. He kept his arms securely around my waist.

"What happened?" I asked breathlessly.

"I don't know, they just came at us. Stefan tried to convince them that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, just a tourist that found his way down there. Then when they were just a little distracted he pushed me into the elevator and took them on himself. Stefan said he'd take care of everything," Damon said, disbelief evident in his voice.

I sighed feeling tears sting my eyes at his brother's brave actions.

"So it's done?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Damon said, smiling a real smile, "It's done."

He leant down to capture my lips with complete abandon. I wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him in closer, refusing to let go. I wasn't even bothered by the fact that there were people everywhere. All I could feel was Damon, all I could think was Damon. He slowly pulled away with a chuckle when I growled at the loss of contact.

He laced his fingers in mine and towed me to the elevator to our room. We smiled at each other and kissed the whole way back, not bothering with words. We didn't say another word as we shed our clothes through the suite. We didn't break eye contact as we both drown in the others love.

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><p>I lay content in Damon's arms. We were still basking in our newfound freedom. It was as if we got high off it. A high we'd never come down from.<p>

He was tracing lazy circles on my back and I was reveling in the feel of his skin on mine. I never thought it would feel this good, but after thinking he was dead, nothing felt better.

"'Lena?" He broke the silence.

"Hmmm?" Was all I could reply as I shifted in his arms to look up at his face.

"What do you say we get out of here?" He asked.

"Where would we go?" I asked him, letting my fingers trace the hills and valleys of his muscular chest.

"That's just the thing. We can go where ever we want," he smiled at me. I couldn't help but smile at the thought. All the possibilities of what could be between us came rushing back to me and I smiled up at him thinking that they just may come true.

"Elena?" I heard him say quietly.

"Yeah?" I asked, looking back up at him.

"I love you," he said, his eyes shining with every emotion I was feeling at that exact moment.

"I love you, too," I smiled.

He was mine and I was his.

And we were free.

_End._


End file.
